Improving Help-seeking Propensity Through a Micro-intervention Targeting Common Concerns Among Individuals With Alcohol Problems: A Randomized Controlled Experiment

NCT06675812 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 2023-04537-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 200
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Many people who have risky alcohol use or alcohol dependence do not seek help, often is due to concerns about potential consequences or feelings of shame. At the same time, the prognosis is good for those who do seek help and there are effective treatments available. This project aims to investigate whether increased information about the process can lower these barriers, and in turn encourage more people to seek help for alcohol-related problems.

Conditions

Hazardous Alcohol Use; Hazardous Drinking; Alcohol Abuse; Harmful Alcohol Use; Risky Drinking

Keywords

Help-seeking; Treatment gap; Referral to treatment; Social services; Information intervention; Alcohol; Drinking

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Likelihood of seeking help

  This will be formulated approximately like this: "How likely are you to seek help for your alcohol use from the municipality?" And the response would be on a VAS scale, where 1 is "Very unlikely" and 10 is "Very likely/already have."

  Four weeks after recieving the intervention

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Knowledge of available municipal support

  Right after receiving the intervention.

• Confidence in the help-seeking process

  Four weeks after recieving the intervention

• Concerns about negative consequences

  Four weeks after recieving the intervention

• Concerns about confidentiality

  Four weeks after recieving the intervention

• Impact of shame on help-seeking behavior

  Four weeks after recieving the intervention

Study Arms (2)

Active group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The participant will receive information on what treatment that is offered in their municipal, how the help-seeking process goes (where they can be anonymous etc), and tailored information regarding the barriers that the participant has stated preventing him or her for seeking help today.

Other: Information intervention

Referral to municipal care

NO INTERVENTION

At the anonymous help service where the intervention will be used, is standard practice to refer the person to the municipal care, if he or she request for more help.

Interventions

Information intervention OTHER

The participant will receive information on what treatment that is offered in their municipal, how the help-seeking process goes (where they can be anonymous etc), and tailored information regarding the barriers that the participant has stated preventing him or her for seeking help today.

Active group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Hazardous alcohol use according to AUDIT-C (a score of 3 or more)

You may not qualify if:

• Ongoing care contact at a municipal or regional addiction clinic.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Karolinska Institutet: lead
• Stockholm Center for Dependency Disorders: collaborator
• Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, & Stockholm Health Care Services: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Alkoholhjälpen

Stockholm, Stockholm County, 11761, Sweden

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alcoholism

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Alcohol-Related Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Dr

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 4, 2024
• First Posted: November 5, 2024
• Study Start: November 18, 2024
• Primary Completion: December 2, 2025
• Study Completion: May 1, 2026
• Last Updated: December 23, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-12

Locations

SE (1)